[kitchen]
kit·chen | noun
a mobile app that helps users discover, create, save, and organize food-related videos and recipes in one seamless experience
Project Duration
8 weeks
My Role
End-to-End UX/UI Designer
Tools
Figma, Adobe Photoshop
Introduction
KxTCHEN began as an idea to create a better way for people to experience food content. I noticed how often users scrolled through short cooking videos for inspiration but struggled to actually cook what they saw. The process of finding recipes, following instructions, and saving favorites was spread across too many platforms. I wanted to design an app that connected these steps into one cohesive experience where creativity, learning, and organization could exist together.
The Problem
Most cooking platforms focus on only one part of the experience. Short videos inspire but don’t provide enough instruction, while recipe websites offer details but feel overwhelming and outdated. This disconnect makes it difficult for users to move from inspiration to action. People needed a simple, engaging way to discover, learn, and save recipes without jumping between apps or losing track of what caught their attention.
The Solution
KxTCHEN brings inspiration and instruction together in a single app. Users can explore quick cooking clips and then open full recipes with step-by-step guidance, ingredient lists, and tags for time, mood, and cuisine. The design emphasizes clarity, warmth, and usability, making it easy to watch, cook, and save recipes in personalized collections. KxTCHEN creates a smoother, more enjoyable experience that helps people turn food content into something they can actually use in the kitchen.
Research
Goal
The goal of my research was to understand how people currently discover, engage with, and use cooking content online in order to identify pain points and opportunities for improving that experience. I wanted to uncover what motivates users to save or recreate recipes and what prevents them from doing so effectively across existing platforms.
Research Objectives
My research objectives for KxTCHEN included:
Identify user behaviors around discovering and saving food-related content, including how they find new recipes and what tools they use.
Understand user frustrations with current cooking and recipe-sharing platforms, especially where short-form and long-form content fall short.
Explore user motivations for engaging with cooking content, such as learning new skills, saving time, or finding inspiration.
Determine what features would make a cooking app more seamless, helpful, and enjoyable to use.
Gather insights that could guide design decisions for navigation, content structure, and visual presentation within KxTCHEN.
Research & Analysis Methods
Primary Research - User Interviews
To understand how people interact with cooking content, I conducted user interviews with five participants with different interest levels related to cooking and cooking content. Each interview lasted about 30 minutes and focused on questions such as their interest in cooking, how they might discover new recipes, their frustrations with current platforms, and how they would save or organize content they want to try. The interviews revealed key pain points, including difficulty keeping track of recipes, lack of clear step-by-step guidance in short videos, and frustration with cluttered or confusing platforms. These insights helped shape the features and flows of KxTCHEN to ensure the app met real user needs.
Secondary Research - Competitive Analysis
I analyzed several popular platforms, including TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram, and Whisk, to identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in how users discover and interact with cooking content. Short-form video apps excelled at engagement and discovery but lacked detailed instructional content. Traditional recipe sites provided full information but often felt overwhelming and hard to navigate. By comparing these platforms, I identified opportunities to combine their best aspects in KxTCHEN, creating an experience that is both inspiring and actionable while keeping users engaged and organized.
Define
Affinity Mapping
I organized insights from user interviews into an affinity map to uncover patterns and key pain points. Grouping feedback into themes helped highlight opportunities and informed the design decisions for KxTCHEN.
User Personas
I created user personas based on research insights to represent key audiences. These personas helped guide design decisions and ensure KxTCHEN met real user needs.
Problem Statements, POV Statements & HMW Questions
Based on research insights, I defined problem statements, point-of-view statements, and How Might We questions to clearly frame user needs and opportunities. This helped guide the design direction for KxTCHEN.
1.
Lack of Personalized Cooking Inspiration
Problem Statement
Many users who enjoy cooking feel uninspired by repetitive, uncurated recipe content. Current
food platforms often prioritize popularity over personalization, making it difficult for users to
discover new ideas that align with their taste, skill level, or available ingredients.
POV Statement
Sofia, an experienced home cook, needs a more tailored and creative way to discover new
recipes and techniques because generic content fails to inspire her or help her grow as a cook.
HMW Questions
How might we help users discover recipes that align with their individual cooking interests and skill levels?
How might we encourage creativity and variety through tailored recommendations?
How might we make content discovery feel fresh, exciting, and personally relevant?
2.
Unclear and Overwhelming Recipe Formats
Problem Statement
Many casual cooks struggle to follow online recipes or cooking videos because they lack consistent structure, clear instructions, or visual cues. This leads to frustration, wasted time, and a perception that cooking is difficult or inaccessible.
POV Statement
Alex, a casual cook, needs a clear, guided, and visually structured way to follow recipes because unorganized formats make cooking feel confusing and time-consuming.
HMW Questions
How might we simplify the cooking process so it feels easy and approachable?
How might we design a structured recipe format that supports clarity and efficiency?
How might we make cooking less intimidating for users with limited time or experience?
3.
Difficulty Saving and Organizing Recipe Content
Problem Statement
Users often struggle to save, organize, or export recipes and videos across different platforms. Most social media and recipe apps lack reliable tools for bookmarking or managing saved content, forcing users to take screenshots, copy links, or manually retype recipes elsewhere. This creates frustration and makes it difficult to revisit or recreate dishes later
POV Statement
Jordan, a casual user who enjoys watching food content for inspiration, needs a simple way to save and organize recipes or videos because he wants to easily revisit content that catches his interest without relying on screenshots or external apps.
HMW Questions
How might we make saving and organizing recipes effortless and intuitive across devices?
How might we allow users to export or sync saved content to external tools like Notes or meal planners?
How might we encourage users to build a personal recipe library that supports their long-term cooking goals?
User Flows
Site Map
Design
Style Guide
Typeface
Baloo 2 Bold, 32px
Header 1
Baloo 2 SemiBold, 28px
Header 2
Baloo 2 SemiBold, 24px
Header 3
Baloo 2 Semibold, 20px
Header 4
Rounded Mplus 1c Bold, 18px
Body 1
Rounded Mplus 1c Medium, 16px
Body 2
Rounded Mplus 1c Medium, 14px
Body 3
Rounded Mplus 1c Bold, 12px
Body 4
Rounded Mplus 1c Bold, 14px
Button
Rounded Mplus 1c Bold, 12px
Label
Color Palette
Brand Colors
Primary
#D40101
Secondary
#0B1215
Tertiary
#F0F0F2
Neutrals
Neutral 1
#F9F9F9
Neutral 2
#E8EAED
Neutral 3
#E0E0E0
Neutral 4
#888888
Neutral 5
#404040
Brand Identity
For KxTCHEN, I designed a logo that reflects the app’s focus on food, creativity, and community. I chose a rounded, approachable typeface paired with a simple, recognizable icon that could stand alone as an app symbol. The darker primary colors provide a modern, sleek feel, while accent colors add warmth and energy. The logo was created to be versatile across the app, marketing materials, and social media, giving the brand a cohesive and memorable identity.
Prototype
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Mockups
View Full Wireframes
Figma Prototype
Test
Usability Testing
I conducted usability testing on the high-fidelity KxTCHEN prototype to evaluate the app’s flow, navigation, and overall user experience. Participants completed tasks such as discovering a recipe, viewing the full video, and saving favorites. The feedback highlighted areas where navigation could be clearer and icons more intuitive.
Tasks
- Browse and find a recipe
- View the recipe details
- Save the recipe to their recipe book
Success Metrics
- Task completion rate: Percentage of participants who successfully complete each task
- Time on task: Duration to complete each step
- User confidence: Observed comfort level and self-reported ease
- Qualitative feedback: Participant comments about layout, labeling, and interactions
- Overall satisfaction: Post-test feedback on clarity, visual design, and engagement
Test Methodology
Usability testing for Kxtchen was conducted with five participants to evaluate the functionality, navigation, and overall user experience of the mobile app prototype. Sessions were held remotely using a Figma prototype, where participants were asked to complete key tasks such as browsing recipes, viewing detailed recipe information, and saving a recipe. Participants were encouraged to think aloud while interacting with the prototype, allowing observation of their decision-making and ease of navigation. This method helped identify usability patterns and assess how effectively the app supported users in discovering and engaging with recipes.
Usability Test Results
Task 1
The browsing flow effectively supports both discovery and engagement. Users felt confident in exploring content and found the visual hierarchy intuitive. The main opportunity lies in enhancing personalization through persistent filters or saved preferences, which would make browsing faster and more relevant over repeated use.
Task 2
The Recipe Details page is one of KxTCHEN’s strongest screens, demonstrating excellent information hierarchy and visual clarity. The feedback highlights opportunities to improve understanding through clearer language and more detail for a more inclusive experience
Task 3
The Recipe Book provides a strong foundation for user engagement and content management. While the core flow functions well, small micro-interactions, such as confirmation messages and custom organization tools, could enhance user confidence and encourage repeat use.
Iterate
Feedback and Revisions
After usability testing, I reviewed all participant feedback and identified key areas for improvement. Revisions included clarifying icons, simplifying navigation, refining the recipe board layout, and adjusting spacing and visual hierarchy. These changes ensured the app felt more intuitive, accessible, and engaging, resulting in a smoother experience from discovering recipes to saving and recreating them.
Clearer Language
Based on feedback from testing, I updated the language related to the “cook time” to better provide a breakdown of how time is spent working on this recipe.
More Social Features
I decided to add some extra social features that I felt were related to the function of the app and the flow of the users. These will help users interact more with each other to build a stronger connection.
More Personalization
Based on feedback, I made some changes that will help make every recipe feel more personal. The ability to customize a recipe you’ve found will include adjusting serving sizes, removing/substituting ingredients, and more.
Conclusion
Key Takeaways
Working on KxTCHEN helped me understand how each stage of the design process connects and builds on the last. I learned how valuable user feedback is and how much it can influence the final product. The project strengthened my ability to create designs that are both visually appealing and practical for real users.
Reflection
This project pushed me to think deeply about how people discover and share food content online. It gave me hands-on experience turning research insights into meaningful design decisions. Watching the idea evolve through testing and iteration was a turning point in how I approach design challenges.
The Next Steps
I plan to expand KxTCHEN by adding features that encourage more interaction, like comments and shared recipe boards. I also want to include personalized recommendations that adapt to user preferences over time. These updates would help make the app feel more social, useful, and personal to each user.